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Business licenses and permits in Billings, Montana

Billings runs a genuinely broad general municipal Business License — not a narrow, enumerated City-Clerk license list like Bangor, Maine's or Nampa, Idaho's — as the City's own Business License Information page states, administered by the Finance Department: 'Any person who conducts business in the City or is based in the City must obtain a business license.' The City's own current Business Tax Determination form prices a $50.00 flat Health Fee, $6.00 per full-time employee over 5, a $12.00 optional Delivery Permit fee, and $200.00-$500.00 optional liquor endorsement fees, and leaves its own primary 'Basic Tax' line blank on the form for staff to fill in; the underlying codified table is Code of Ordinances Chapter 13, Article 13-400, Sec. 13-424: $55.00/$90.00/$140.00/$215.00 by four gross-revenue categories, or a flat $20.00 for a home-based Home Occupation. RiverStone Health — the Yellowstone City-County Health Department, confirmed as a genuine local government entity via its own SAM.gov registration and the City's own cross-references — is the real food-permitting authority: its own current fixed-establishment Plan Review Application (11/20/2025) correctly states the state's current $150.00-$275.00 Retail Food Establishment License tiers, while its own still-posted mobile-establishment application (2023.01.01) has not been updated and still quotes the old $85.00/$115.00 figures, now superseded by that current three-tier structure. RiverStone Health separately charges its own local Plan Review Fee ($250.00/$350.00 small/large, $150.00 for a minor remodel or change of ownership, for both fixed and mobile establishments), a Temporary Food Service Plan Review ($50.00) and per-event Permit ($25.00), and a $150.00 HACCP Plan Review fee ($125.00 more for a Variance) for specialized processes. The Fire Department outsources fire protection system plan review to a private consultant (Fire Safety Consultants Incorporated), paid directly by the contractor, and no fee is published for a routine business fire-code inspection — but a separate, newly-confirmed Fire System Permit Fee (Resolution 26-11315, February 23, 2026) charges the City directly for installing, repairing, or replacing a fire protection or alarm system, from $45.00 up to $2,000.00 by project cost. That same Resolution 26-11315 is the superseding resolution for the Building Permit valuation table — it repeals Resolution 11-19068 (2011), which had itself superseded the original Resolution 06-18413 (2006); the City's own live Permit Fees webpage still prints the pre-2026 figures, and the dated, signed resolution is the controlling source. The Electrical Permit fee schedule remains identical to the original 2006 resolution's figures, and the Building Division's Getting a Certificate page states that 'Inspections and plan reviews are funded through the purchase of a building permit by the builder or applicant,' so no separate Certificate of Occupancy fee is published. The City's own current Planning Application Fee Schedule (Exhibit A, FY26 rates effective July 1, 2025) prices Signs at $2.50/sq ft (application) plus $1.50/sq ft (permit), a Zone Change at $1,719.00, a Special Review (Billings' functional conditional-use-permit equivalent, decided by the City Council on the City Zoning Commission's recommendation under BMCC Sec. 27-1623) at $1,299.00 (residential)/$1,776.00 (commercial), a Variance at $678.00 (residential)/$966.00 (commercial) decided by the quasi-judicial City Board of Adjustment, and a Zoning Clarification at $92.00 (written) or $171.00 (on-site). Montana's own 76-2-412 MCA statewide preemption, not a Billings-specific ordinance, keeps a licensed family or group day-care home a permitted use in every residential zone, with no conditional use permit or Special Review required. The City's Business License Information page describes the general license as evidence that the annual business tax has been paid and notes that 'Other permits may be required to open your business'; for ordinary retail, auto repair, veterinary practices, fitness studios, hair/nail salons and general contractors, the City-level records here are that general license plus the building, zoning, sign and fire permits that apply to any commercial use.

What are you opening in Billings?

Permits that apply to every type of business in Billings

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Zoning Clarification (Zoning Verification)only if it applies to youCity/County Planning Division, City of Billings Planning & Community Services Department$92–$171 per request: $92.00 (written response) or $171.00 (on-site visit), FY26 rates effective July 1, 2025one-time, per request — not stated in the published fee schedule2026-09-12
Commercial Building PermitCity of Billings, Building DivisionResolution 26-11315 (adopted February 23, 2026) valuation table, applied to the higher of the total bid price or the valuation in the most recent International Code Council Building Safety Journal table: $1-$2,000: $45.00 flat; $2,001-$25,000: $45.00 for the first $2,000 plus $8.00 per additional $1,000 or fraction; $25,001-$50,000: $229.00 for the first $25,000 plus $5.00 per additional $1,000 or fraction; $50,001-$100,000: $354.00 for the first $50,000 plus $3.50 per additional $1,000 or fraction; $100,001-$500,000: $529.00 for the first $100,000 plus $2.50 per additional $1,000 or fraction; $500,001-$1,000,000: $1,529.00 for the first $500,000 plus $2.00 per additional $1,000 or fraction; $1,000,001-$5,000,000: $2,529.00 for the first $1,000,000 plus $1.75 per additional $1,000 or fraction; over $5,000,000: $9,529.00 for the first $5,000,000 plus $1.50 per additional $1,000 or fraction. Add a Commercial Plan Review Fee of 60% of the permit fee. 'Other Inspections and Fees' are charged at $75.00 per hour (Item 6): inspections outside normal business hours (two-hour minimum), re-inspections (one-hour minimum), inspections for which no fee is specifically indicated (one-hour minimum), and additional plan review required by changes, additions or revisions to approved plans (half-hour minimum). Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing permits are priced on their own separate unit-fee schedules set by the same resolution; the Electrical schedule's single-family-dwelling figures ($130.00/$200.00 by amperage) are the same as in the 2006 resolution.one-time, per project — not stated in the published fee schedule2026-09-12
Zoning Variance (City Board of Adjustment)only if it applies to youCity of Billings, City Board of Adjustment$678–$966 one-time, per application: $678.00 (residential) or $966.00 (commercial), FY26 rates effective July 1, 2025, plus postageone-time, per application2026-09-12
City of Billings Business LicenseCity of Billings, Department of Finance (Business License Division)Basic Tax, tiered by the licensee's own gross revenue: Category I ($0-$100,000): $55.00; Category II (over $100,000 to $2,000,000): $90.00; Category III (over $2,000,000 to $3,000,000): $140.00; Category IV (over $3,000,000): $215.00 — or a flat $20.00 'Home occupation' Basic Tax across every revenue category for a business run from a home. Plus $6.00 per full-time-equivalent employee or independent contractor in excess of 5 (all categories), plus a flat $50.00 Health Inspection fee (or $50.00 Health Reinspection fee where a reinspection is needed), plus an optional $12.00 Delivery Permit fee per vehicle, plus optional liquor endorsement fees of $500.00 (all-beverage), $200.00 (beer), or $200.00 (wine) where applicable.annual — one year from the month the license is obtained2026-09-12
Certificate of OccupancyCity of Billings, Building DivisionNo feeone-time — issued after required inspections confirm code compliance2026-09-12
Zone Changeonly if it applies to youCity/County Planning Division, City of Billings Planning & Community Services Department$1,719 one-time, per application (FY26 rate, effective July 1, 2025, plus postage)one-time, per application2026-09-12
Fire Prevention Business Inspection (City fee not published)Billings Fire Department, Fire Prevention BureauNo feenot applicable2026-09-12
Fire System Permit (Installation, Repair, or Replacement of Fire Protection/Alarm Systems)only if it applies to youBillings Fire Department, Fire Prevention BureauPriced by the fire protection or alarm system's own project cost, per system: $0.00-$500.00 = $45.00; $501.00-$1,000.00 = $90.00; $1,001.00-$10,000.00 = $180.00; $10,001.00-$50,000.00 = $250.00; $50,001.00-$100,000.00 = $500.00; $100,001.00-$1,000,000.00 = $1,000.00; over $1,000,000.00 = $2,000.00.one-time, per system installation, repair, or replacement2026-09-12

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

What do these permits involve in Billings?

Zoning Clarification (Zoning Verification)

A written confirmation from Planning that a proposed use complies with the Zoning Code at a given property — commonly requested for financing, leasing, or licensing purposes rather than legally mandatory before every business opens, so it is treated as conditional. A separate $105.00 Code Interpretation fee and a $216.00 (FY25)/$277.00 (FY26) fee for Minor Modifications to Approved Applications appear on the same current schedule.

Commercial Building Permit

Set by Resolution 26-11315, adopted February 23, 2026 and 'effective immediately upon passage.' The City's own signed and sealed copy is the fee source. It repeals Resolution 11-19068 (June 13, 2011), the resolution that had set the valuation-based fees, and sets new, generally lower Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fire System permit fees; the Fire System Permit Fee from Item 5 is recorded as a separate Billings record. Item 1 of the signed resolution sets every valuation band above and reads 'COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEW FEE SHALL BE ASSESSED AT 60% OF THE PERMIT FEE.' 'Other Inspections and Fees' are $75.00 per hour under Item 6, with the minimums shown above. The City's Permit Fees page (DID=5053) still prints the pre-2026 valuation table and a flat $45.00 charge ('Or the total hourly cost to the City, whichever is the greatest'), and the City's electrical fee page (DID=1026) also still prints $45.00. Both pages are out of date against the controlling resolution and are cited only because a reader might otherwise rely on them. The resolution's authenticity is corroborated by the City's own Administrator Weekly Report, which lists it on the Council's draft 2026 agenda. The 60% clause replaces the 2006 resolution's '[ADD 65% PLAN CHECK FOR COMMERCIAL & MULTI-FAMILY]' and no longer names multi-family projects. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing trade permits are billed separately from this Building Permit figure.

Zoning Variance (City Board of Adjustment)

The City's own Board of Adjustment page confirms the Board may 'authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the terms of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest' where a literal enforcement would create unnecessary hardship, and that its decisions are final and quasi-judicial. Triggered when a proposed use or structure cannot meet the Zoning Code's dimensional or use standards and no ordinary path to approval exists.

City of Billings Business License

Billings runs a genuinely broad general business license, not a narrow enumerated activity list like those of Bangor, Maine or Nampa, Idaho: the City's own Business License Information page states that 'Any person who conducts business in the City or is based in the City must obtain a business license on or before the date the business commences,' true even for a business physically located outside city limits, and a separate license is required for each business type and each location. The License is administered by the Finance Department rather than a City Clerk's office. The 'Basic Tax' line on the City's own current fee-computation form is left blank on the form itself for staff to fill in; the rate table is codified at Sec. 13-424 (Tax Schedule), and its Category I figure ($55.00) matches the fee-computation form's own pre-printed Category I amount. A business selling liquor pays an additional endorsement fee on top of the base computation.

Certificate of Occupancy

The Building Division's Getting a Certificate page, linked from its Certificate of Occupancy page, states that 'Inspections and plan reviews are funded through the purchase of a building permit by the builder or applicant. In turn, this cost is passed on to the consumer.' The City publishes no separate charge for the certificate, so there is no standalone Certificate of Occupancy fee: the cost is folded into the Building Permit fee rather than priced separately — a difference from Bangor and Nampa, both of which price a Certificate of Occupancy as its own line item. The Certificate of Occupancy page adds that all required inspections and a Certificate of Occupancy must be obtained before water service billing information is transferred.

Zone Change

Applies only when a business's intended use is not permitted under the zoning classification already on the property and the property owner seeks to change that classification entirely, rather than seeking an exception under the Special Review or Variance processes recorded as separate Billings records.

Fire Prevention Business Inspection (City fee not published)

No fee is published for this inspection: the Fire Prevention Bureau's own current Business Fire Inspection Checklist and Fire Prevention Bureau pages, both read directly, describe the inspection itself (egress, extinguishers, commercial kitchen hoods, hazardous materials storage, and similar items) but state no dollar figure for a routine business fire-code inspection. Fire protection system plan review (for a new sprinkler, alarm, or suppression system) is instead outsourced entirely to a private consultant, Fire Safety Consultants Incorporated (FSCI) — the City's own page confirms 'review fees are paid directly to FSCI by the submitting contractor or designer,' not to the City, so no City-collected fee is recorded for that review either. This is distinct from the City's own separately-collected Fire System Permit Fee (for installing, repairing, or replacing a fire protection or alarm system), recorded as its own Billings record. That record shows from the City's own documents that the two are separate charges paid to separate payees on the same project: the City's per-system permit fee under Resolution 26-11315, and FSCI's own review fee, paid directly to FSCI.

Fire System Permit (Installation, Repair, or Replacement of Fire Protection/Alarm Systems)

Set by Item 5 of Resolution 26-11315 (adopted February 23, 2026), the same resolution that set the current Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical permit fees recorded in the other Billings records. The City's own signed copy is the fee source; the City's Permit Fees page (DID=5053) contains no fire system table. Item 5 reads 'Includes the installation, repair, and/or replacement of fire protection and alarm systems. For each system,' so a sprinkler system and a separate alarm system on the same project are each priced on their own. The City's own documents show that this permit fee and FSCI's review fee are two separate charges paid to two different payees. The resolution attaches no plan-review charge to Item 5. Its only plan-review percentage, 60%, sits under the Building Permit Fees item, and it never mentions FSCI or any third-party review. The plans themselves go to FSCI. The City's Development/Construction Requirements page states that FSCI plans 'are returned to the fire marshal for final review and approval' and that 'Review fees are paid directly to FSCI by the submitting contractor or designer.' The Fire Department's Delayed Plan Submittal Verification Form, which has a field for the project's permit number, sends sprinkler, alternative extinguishing and fire alarm plans to Fire Safety Consultants in Elgin, Illinois. The adopted fire code's own fee section is not in force: BMCC Sec. 14-301 adopts the 2021 International Fire Code but states '107 FEES is not adopted.' A project installing a system therefore pays this City permit fee and, separately, FSCI's own review fee. None of these documents credits one against the other. FSCI's fee is set by FSCI rather than by any City resolution, so it is not priced here.

Sources

Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. EXHIBIT A FY 25 & 26 City of Billings Planning Application Fees (dated 7/12/2024) — the current Planning fee schedule for Signs, Zone Changes, Special Reviews, Variances, Zoning Clarifications, and Temporary Use PermitsCity of Billings, Montana, Planning & Community Services Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  2. Resolution 26-11315 (adopted February 23, 2026), A Resolution Setting Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fire Systems Permit Fees: signed and sealed copy, including Item 5, Fire System Permit Fees, per system by project costCity of Billings, Montana, City Council · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  3. Building Permit Fees (valuation table), linked from the City's Permit Fees page: still prints the pre-2026 valuation table and a $45.00 'Other Inspections and Fees' charge, both superseded by Resolution 26-11315 (re-checked September 18, 2026)City of Billings, Montana, Building Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  4. Resolution No. 06-18413 (passed April 24, 2006) — the Building, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical Permit Fees resolution, including the 65% commercial/multi-family plan-check clauseCity of Billings, Montana, City Council · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  5. Electrical Permit Fees, linked from the City's Permit Fees page: single-family and commercial electrical figures matching Resolution 26-11315 Item 2, but still printing the superseded $45.00 'Other Inspections and Fees' chargeCity of Billings, Montana, Building Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  6. Billings City Administrator Weekly Report (January 2, 2026) — its own draft 2026 Council meeting agendas list 'Resolution Setting Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Fire System Permit Fees' as a consent-agenda item, independently corroborating Resolution 26-11315's legislative processCity of Billings, Montana, City Administrator's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  7. City Board of Adjustment — the City's own page describing the Board's quasi-judicial variance authorityCity of Billings, Montana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  8. City of Billings Code of Ordinances, Chapter 13, Article 13-400 (Taxation), Sec. 13-424 (Tax Schedule) — the codified Basic Tax table by gross-revenue category, Home Occupation rate, per-employee addition, Health Inspection/Reinspection fees, and liquor license fees. Its Category I figure and liquor fees match the City's own business tax form ('biztaxform').City of Billings, Montana, via Municode · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  9. Business License Information — the City's own page confirming every business operating in or based in the City must hold a Business LicenseCity of Billings, Montana, Department of Finance · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  10. FAQ — 'Do I need a City of Billings Business License?' confirming the license requirement and renewal cycleCity of Billings, Montana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  11. Business Tax Determination (Department of Finance) — the City's own current fee-computation form: Health Fee ($50.00), per-employee fee ($6.00 over 5), Delivery Permit ($12.00), liquor endorsement fees ($200.00-$500.00), and Ordinance No. 12-5587 compliance provisionCity of Billings, Montana, Department of Finance · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  12. Certificate of Occupancy — the City's own page confirming inspections and plan review 'are funded through the purchase of a building permit,' with no standalone feeCity of Billings, Montana, Building Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  13. Business Fire Inspection Checklist — the Fire Prevention Bureau's own current inspection checklist, with no fee statedCity of Billings, Montana, Fire Prevention Bureau · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  14. Development/Construction Requirements — the City's own page confirming fire protection system plan review is outsourced to Fire Safety Consultants Incorporated (FSCI), paid directly by the contractorCity of Billings, Montana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
  15. Delayed Plan Submittal Verification Form (Billings Fire Department, updated 8/12/20): automatic sprinkler, alternative automatic extinguishing and fire alarm plans go to Fire Safety Consultants, Elgin, Illinois; the form has a field for the project's permit numberCity of Billings, Montana, Billings Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  16. BMCC Sec. 14-301 (Adoption by reference of the 2021 edition of the International Fire Code): adopts the IFC's permit and construction-document sections but states '107 FEES is not adopted'City of Billings, Montana, via Municode · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18

Who issues business permits in Billings?

Permitting in Billings is split across 6 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.

Billings issuing agencies

Other Montana jurisdictions we cover

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.